Mistrial declared in Slate Belt child molestation trial

'It's not OK that he gets to walk and I have to go through this,' girl says after child molestation mistrial

It was powerful evidence for prosecutors in the trial of a Slate Belt man charged with molesting a girl for years beginning when she was 4.

Not only did the girl accuse 77-year-old Anthony Giamoni of repeatedly touching her inappropriately from 2001 to 2007. Another woman also came forward to say that the Lower Mount Bethel Township man did the same to her more than four decades ago when she was also a child.

Before Giamoni's trial this week, Northampton County Judge Paula Roscioli ruled that jurors would hear allegations of the earlier abuse, for which Giamoni was never charged. In so doing, Roscioli concluded that the similarities in the two accounts helped establish a "common scheme or pattern" by the defendant that outweighed any unfair prejudice he might face if the accusations were aired.

But on Tuesday, on the second day of trial, Roscioli said she no longer believed her ruling could stand, after the older woman's description of her abuse differed in key details from what prosecutors had thought she would say. As a result, Roscioli declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury, as was sought by Giamoni's defense attorney, George Heitczman.

The mistrial came as the girl, now 17, had already testified in the trial, crying on the witness stand and avoiding looking in Giamoni's direction as she did so. As Assistant District Attorney Anthony Casola broke the news to her in the hallway, she burst into tears that continued in court as Roscioli outlined her rationale.

"It's not OK that he gets to walk and I have to go through this … again," the girl sobbed afterward.

The girl testified Monday that when she was between the ages of 4 and 10, Giamoni would touch her over and underneath her clothing, and threaten that "if I ever told anybody, he would kill my entire family."

She said she disclosed what had happened because she was "sick of living with that in the back of my head all the time."

According to prosecutors, the older woman offered them a similar narrative, reporting that she was touched over and underneath her clothing from as early as she could remember until she was 11. But on the witness stand, the woman said the abuse also involved penetration and the fondling of her breasts, leading to Heitczman's objections.

In declaring a mistrial, Roscioli said she believes the woman's claims Tuesday were a "surprise to the commonwealth," and prosecutors will be permitted to try to the case again. She said Casola is also welcome to reargue the issue of whether the older allegations should be allowed into trial, if he so chooses.

"The court takes this decision very seriously," Roscioli said of the mistrial. "I have reluctantly granted this motion knowing that it is difficult for the victim to have to testify again."

Casola declined to comment afterward, saying he needed to speak with the girl and her family.

Giamoni faces charges that include attempted aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corrupting a minor. At trial, Heitczman argued that his client was being falsely accused.